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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 7, 2023 9:42:24 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS!
Honest Reviews From Real Readers(That Means You!)  What did you read this week? |
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Post by DubipR on Mar 7, 2023 12:07:14 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man 21
Fantastic Four 5
Scarlet Witch 3
Batman 133
Small week of downloads
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2023 15:07:59 GMT -5
Only 2 regular books this week, but a big week for special orders (trades & variants)
Scarlet Witch #3
Fantastic Four #5
Batman #357 Facsimile Edition
Variants
Avengers #66 Alex Ross Ultron Timeless variant
Amazing Spider-Man #21 Disney 100 Variant (Hulk 1 homage)
Books/Trades:
Alex Toth: Genius Illustrated
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Official Movie Prequel GN
Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 2
Excited for all 3, just wish they all didn't show up the same week.
-M
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 10, 2023 5:33:13 GMT -5
Nightcrawlers #1 and #2 (2 came out this week, but with shipping issues over here I also got issue 1 finally this week. I'm going to smash them together into 1 review. Written by: Simon Spurrier Art by" Paco Medina and Jay David Ramos (issue 1), Andrea di Vito and Jim Charalampidis (issue 2) What Happened Before: OK, hang on, this is going to be quite a ride: We're doing an Age of Apocalypse again (not The Age of Apocalypse again, we're not going back to that place). No, what I mean is that some titles are replaced for a few issues with another title in another timeline. This time it's a smaller affaire than before: Immortal X-Men by Gillen becomes Immoral X-Men, X-Men Red by Al Ewing becomes Storm & The Brotherhood and Legion of X by Si Spurrier becomes Nightcrawlers. Spurrier, Gillen and Ewing are three of my favourite writers at the moments (and also doing the 3 X-titles that I find interesting unlike the rest.), so for a change I'm into a crossover/event. It's all part of the Sins of Sinister story, so a bit about that: On Krakoa, mutants have used Mr. Sinister's knowledge of genetics to make sure that if a mutant is killed, they can return through a cloned body. Sinister is Sinister though, so he has his own plots. One of them is creating hybrids: artificial mutants with a combination of other mutants powers. Sinister's other plot is him infecting the Council of Krakoa into becoming versions of himself when they are resurrected: an attack by Sinister on the Council kills 5 members and they come back, part Sinister (though they have no real loyalty to the original). Another complication for Sinister is that he has recently discovered that he is not the original Nathaniel Essex like he always thought. Essex created four clones of himself (each changed in various ways, using differnt methods and each marked with a playing card suit). Sinister is Diamonds and there are three others (most of them believing that they are the real Essex. Only Mother Righteous (being female) never was under the illusion that she was the same person.) Plot:Issue 1: 10 years after Sinister's Coup, he has infected many living beings and controls armies of Hybrid Mutants. Mother Righteous is one of the clones of Nathaniel Essex and tries to reach Essex goal of preventing a future ruled by machines through the use of magic. Her agent in this is Vox Ignis (Banshee possessed by a Ghost-Rider like being, but instead of a Spirit of Vengeance, it's a Spirit of Variance.) Sinister sends his Legion of Night against him (hybrids with the power of Nightcrawler and another being). Vox Ignis scream is capable of freeing 3 members of this Legion from Sinister's control though and they join his cause (Wagnerine (based on Wolverine (Laura)), Walllcrawler (based on Spider-Man) and Auntie Fortune (based on Domino). Mother Righteous orders Vox Ignis and the Nightcrawlers to increase their numbers and steal artefacts that can help them in their quest: entering Sinister's hidden lab and cleanse his influence from all beings. Issue 2: 100 years after Sinister's Coup, the Nightcrawlers, now calling themselves the Nightkin, remain a relatively small group, while Sinister's forces have increased and left Earth to conquer the rest of the Galaxy. The Nightkin don't ally themselves with any of Sinister's enemies though, but focus on stealing powerful artefacts while their owners are engaged with fighting Sinister's forces. Wagnerine's healing factor has kept her alive and she is growing suspect of Mother Righteous true motives. The Good: It's a potential future, so the writers and artist are free to go wild with ideas and I enjoy the various combinations of mutants/superhumans that Sinister has come up with. Wagnerine (despite not liking the name) is a good character (maybe because she reminds me of Nocturne) and I'd like to see more of her (or bring back Nocturne, she hits much of the same beats for me).
Also setting increasingly large timeskips between each issue is an interesting twist on this type of story, you can do much with 3 issues that way.
The Bad: It's nice to do something different, though I'm still annoyed by everything that keeps interrupting the series I enjoy. Can we get like a year of comics that is just focused on the main premise of the series without going into crossovers and events?
I don't think this will work as a standalone story, needing investment in all the previous storylines over in Immortal X-Men and Legion of X (and to a lesser extend X-Men Red, but I didn't see much of that seriees in here).
Overall: It's not a series for new readers, a lot of it requires you to have read a lot of X-Men and other Marvel related comics. I like this well enough, but I wouldn't recommend it to somebody else unless they are really invested in the recent Legion of X series.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 10, 2023 9:40:26 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #1Written by Tom Taylor Art by Clayton Henry Summary: Ultraman is traveling the Multiverse killing Superman and it's up to Val-Zod, Red Tornado( Earth 2 Lois Lane) and Jon Kent to stop him.
Plot: I'd much rather this book be called Superboy or Teen of Steel...but DC didn't ask me; that aside though the ongoing adventures of Jon Kent continue to be a fun although light read. I say light because we've already seen this plot of a multiversal threat going from universe to universe killing the heroes as they go and there's nothing new added to that trope here. On top of that the threat itself is Ultraman, and he beats the various Superman because he has a device that weakens Kel-Els...but he himself is an alternate Kal-El so one would think such a device would weaken him too. But that aside the plot is slick, and despite the multiversal mayhem the tone is upbeat so it's still an adventure worth reading.
Art: Clayton Henry's art has a great cinematic look to it that really gives the whole book a suitably epic scale. His action is tightly paced, his figures are smooth and there's a real sense of weight to the characters that makes the punches really feel like they're landing.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 10, 2023 13:51:45 GMT -5
Predator #1Written by Ed Brisson Art by Netho Diaz Summary: On a dense jungle planet a disparate group of people wake up to find themselves hunted by Predators.
Plot: There's the possibility of an interesting story here in Brisson's second Predator story arc...but unfortunately it only shows up on the very last page. For the rest of the book we're treated to a rehash of 2010's Predators and while that's probably my favorite sequel I didn't need to see it played out again with less character development. If Brisson wanted to get Theta(who shows up on the final page) to the Predator hunting world after she successfully went native and hunted down the Predator who killed her family in the first Predator story arc he should have taken us of Theta's journey to that planet rather than introducing us to a bunch of cannon fodder who barely make out of the first issue. I'll probably try one more issue as I loved the introductory arc but the second issue has to be damned near perfect if it wants me to keep on reading after this disastrous opening.
Art: While Diaz does a great job at giving us all the guts, gore and action one expects from a Predator story the human characters suffer a little. Despite being a diverse group of people they all sort of look the same in that they are all super generic to the point that I didn't even recognize Theta from the first story when she showed up at the end. If this book is going to get better Diaz is going to have to learn to do the quieter character moments better.
Grade:5/10 |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 14, 2023 14:59:49 GMT -5
I don't think I liked Nightcrawlers as much as Dizzy D did.. I really just want to read Spurrier's normal book.. it hasn't be around long enough for an alternate universe version to really tickle my fancy. It's decent though.. I definitely like Spurrier alot.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 14, 2023 15:02:45 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #1Written by Tom Taylor Art by Clayton Henry Summary: Ultraman is traveling the Multiverse killing Superman and it's up to Val-Zod, Red Tornado( Earth 2 Lois Lane) and Jon Kent to stop him.
Plot: I'd much rather this book be called Superboy or Teen of Steel...but DC didn't ask me; that aside though the ongoing adventures of Jon Kent continue to be a fun although light read. I say light because we've already seen this plot of a multiversal threat going from universe to universe killing the heroes as they go and there's nothing new added to that trope here. On top of that the threat itself is Ultraman, and he beats the various Superman because he has a device that weakens Kel-Els...but he himself is an alternate Kal-El so one would think such a device would weaken him too. But that aside the plot is slick, and despite the multiversal mayhem the tone is upbeat so it's still an adventure worth reading.
Art: Clayton Henry's art has a great cinematic look to it that really gives the whole book a suitably epic scale. His action is tightly paced, his figures are smooth and there's a real sense of weight to the characters that makes the punches really feel like they're landing.
Grade:7/10 Seems like maybe this ISN'T Jon getting sucked into the Injustice universe (or maybe it still will be).. weird it was marketed that way. I think it would be weird to call it Superboy... I personally think of Conner as Superboy.. and the silver Clark Kent as a boy stories 2nd. Jon is Jon Kent, not Superboy to me. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 14, 2023 15:07:44 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #1Written by Tom Taylor Art by Clayton Henry Summary: Ultraman is traveling the Multiverse killing Superman and it's up to Val-Zod, Red Tornado( Earth 2 Lois Lane) and Jon Kent to stop him.
Plot: I'd much rather this book be called Superboy or Teen of Steel...but DC didn't ask me; that aside though the ongoing adventures of Jon Kent continue to be a fun although light read. I say light because we've already seen this plot of a multiversal threat going from universe to universe killing the heroes as they go and there's nothing new added to that trope here. On top of that the threat itself is Ultraman, and he beats the various Superman because he has a device that weakens Kel-Els...but he himself is an alternate Kal-El so one would think such a device would weaken him too. But that aside the plot is slick, and despite the multiversal mayhem the tone is upbeat so it's still an adventure worth reading.
Art: Clayton Henry's art has a great cinematic look to it that really gives the whole book a suitably epic scale. His action is tightly paced, his figures are smooth and there's a real sense of weight to the characters that makes the punches really feel like they're landing.
Grade:7/10 Seems like maybe this ISN'T Jon getting sucked into the Injustice universe (or maybe it still will be).. weird it was marketed that way. I think it would be weird to call it Superboy... I personally think of Conner as Superboy.. and the silver Clark Kent as a boy stories 2nd. Jon is Jon Kent, not Superboy to me. I don't know, despite grudgingly accepting that he's been aged up I still think of the excellent Super Sons series when I think Jon Kent and he definitely earned the Superboy name there for me so I can'y shake that in my mind. And while I loved Conner back in the day(I wanted a leather jacket like his for the loooongest time) I'm still not sure how he came back or how he fits these days. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 15, 2023 9:43:40 GMT -5
heh, yeah, me either... he just sort of re-appeared. That's what happens when you have so many reboots I guess.
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 15, 2023 11:10:14 GMT -5
I don't think I liked Nightcrawlers as much as Dizzy D did.. I really just want to read Spurrier's normal book.. it hasn't be around long enough for an alternate universe version to really tickle my fancy. It's decent though.. I definitely like Spurrier alot. I think my review comes over a lot more positive than I meant it to be then, my feelings were definitely in the "yeah, fine, can we get back to the regular title now?" and I have a feeling that I will have that feeling even more when it comes to the replacements for Immortal and Red. (but I'm reading those in trade so wait and see). |
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Post by majestic on Mar 15, 2023 12:12:41 GMT -5
Conner reappeared in Bendis' Young Justice series after being stuck in Gemworld. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with the old Superman Jr name for Jon from the old Bob Haney stories. On fact Jon was called that in a Shazam mini series.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 16, 2023 6:41:37 GMT -5
Conner reappeared in Bendis' Young Justice series after being stuck in Gemworld. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with the old Superman Jr name for Jon from the old Bob Haney stories. On fact Jon was called that in a Shazam mini series. I know he's an alien from another world who somehow looks just like us but can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes...but the thought of someone saying, "Look, up in the sky! It's Superman Junior!" just breaks my suspension of disbelief. A superhero name just has to be less involved than that. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2023 7:18:47 GMT -5
Conner reappeared in Bendis' Young Justice series after being stuck in Gemworld. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with the old Superman Jr name for Jon from the old Bob Haney stories. On fact Jon was called that in a Shazam mini series. I know he's an alien from another world who somehow looks just like us but can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes...but the thought of someone saying, "Look, up in the sky! It's Superman Junior!" just breaks my suspension of disbelief. A superhero name just has to be less involved than that. Do you feel the same way about Captain Marvel Jr. as a super-hero name? -M |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 16, 2023 8:39:12 GMT -5
I know he's an alien from another world who somehow looks just like us but can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes...but the thought of someone saying, "Look, up in the sky! It's Superman Junior!" just breaks my suspension of disbelief. A superhero name just has to be less involved than that. Do you feel the same way about Captain Marvel Jr. as a super-hero name? -M Yeah, I always hated that name for Freddy. It used to be I thought there were better options, Lt. Marvel, Marvel-Boy, Blue Marvel(before he became a Marvel character)...but now with Captain Marvel becoming just Shazam it becomes harder. Shazam-Boy? Nope. Teen-Shazam? Nah. They actually made fun of the naming issue in the last Mary Marvel mini as the public had no idea what to even call her, mockingly giving giving her names like She-Zam which Mary hated. For better or worse now I think the best bet is just to refer to them as a group The Shezam Family and just go with the public having no idea what to call them individually. |
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